Post Lab Report 1

Department of CSE
Post Lab Report
Experiment No. : 01
Experiment Name : I-V Characteristics and Modeling of Forward Conduction of a Diode.
Course Code : CSE 251
Course Title : Electronic Circuits
Section : 06
Group : 07
Group Members :
Nishat Sultana Supty

(2018-2-60-126)
Saifur Rahman

(2018-2-60-066)

Md. Arman Sheikh
(2018-2-60-084)
Submitted To : M Saddam Hossain Khan (SHK)

Senior Lecturer
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
Date of Submission :
Abstract
This experiment is carried out with the intention of measuring the I-V characteristics of a diode.
Ideally a diode only allows flow of current in one direction and it operates in 2 modes depending
on the direction of the current flow, which are forward bias and reverse bias mode. Ideally, in
forward bias mode the diode acts as a short circuit and in reverse bias mode the diode works as
an open circuit. But in reality a very small amount of voltage is needed first for the diode to
active. This voltage is called cut in voltage. In this experiment we test out this characteristics of a
diode, measure what the cut in voltage is and see how the current flow increases exponentially
once the source voltage goes past the cut in voltage. A p-n junction diode is used to carry out this
experiment and observe how the current changes along with the voltage change. It can be seen
from the experiment that real diodes are indeed differ from the ideal ones and do not start
conducting current immediately rather it waits till a certain voltage is reached.
(+) VD (-)
(+)
DC 1K VR
Source
(-)
Figure: Experimental Circuit
Objective
The objective of this experiment is to test and measure the I-V characteristics of a diode in
Forward Bias mode. In this experiment we’ll construct a simple circuit using a diode and
measure how it works when we use it in forward bias mode and how it differs from an ideal
diode because of the cut in voltage.
1
Theory And Experimental Methods
Diode is an electrical device which is used to conduct current in only one direction. A diode can
operate in 2 modes. First if the flow of current is positive for the diode it operates in forward bias
mode and acts as a short circuit. And if the current tries to flow in the reverse direction it
switches to reverse bias mode which acts as an open circuit stopping the flow of electricity. To
carry out the experiment,
1. The given circuit is constructed using all the given circuit elements.
(+) VD (-)
(+)
1K
VR
DC
Source
(-)
2. It is checked if the diode is in forward or reverse bias mode using the multi-meter.
3. The resistance value is measured.
4. The circuit is connected to DC source and the values of VD and VR are measured are
written down
5. VR is divided by the measure resistance to find current through the diode
6. The steps are repeated for various voltages in order to observe the changes.
2
Experimental Datasheets
3
4
5
6
Post Lab Answers
Answer to the post lab question 1

From the experiment we get,
The I-V characteristics curve of the diode:
Here it is seen that up until some point the current flow do not start and after that point the flow
of current increases exponentially.
Identified points in the graph:
7
Here, at ID1 = 2.02 mA, VD1 = 0.62 V
At , ID2 = 2.5mA, VD2 = 0.6321 V
VT = 0.0259 V
Now, VD1-VD2 = nVT ln(ID1/ID2)
Thus, n = 2.19
VD1
Now, ID1 = IS × e n V
T
Thus, Is = 3.62∗10−5 mA
= 3.62 ×10−8 A

Extrapolated line from the graph:
Here the line crosses the VD axis at 0.62.

Thus, the cut in voltage is 0.62 V.
Theoretically the cut in voltage for an ideal silicon diode should be 0.7 V. Thus our diode has
a difference of (0.7 – 0.62) = 0.08V.
Here, at ID1 = 2.02 mA, VD1 = 0.62 V

At ID2 = 2.5mA, VD2 = 0.6321 V
We know,
1/rD = (ID2 - ID1) / (VD2 - VD1)
Thus, rD = (VD2 - VD1) / (ID2 - ID1)
The value of rD = 25 Ω
The diode’s internal resistance is 25 ohm.

8
The PSpice simulation of the circuit:
Simulated ID vs VS plot:
3.0V
2.5V
2.0V
1.5V
1.0V
0.5V
0V
0A 0.1mA 0.2mA 0.3mA 0.4mA 0.5mA 0.6mA 0.7mA 0.8mA 0.9mA 1.0mA 1.1mA 1.2mA 1.3mA 1.4mA 1.5mA 1.6mA 1.7mA 1.8mA 1.9mA 2.0mA 2.1mA 2.2mA 2.3mA 2.4mA
V_V1
I(D1)
Figure: ID vs VS
Simulated VD vs VS plot:
5.0V
4.0V
3.0V
2.0V
1.0V
0V
0V 50mV 100mV 150mV 200mV 250mV 300mV 350mV 400mV 450mV 500mV 550mV 600mV 650mV
V1(V1)
V(D1:1) - V(D1:2)
Figure: VD vs VS
9
Conclusion
From this experiment it can be concluded that diodes indeed work as a one way rectifier and it
needs a certain amount of current before it can start conducting. It is also observed that instead of
staying at the cut in voltage, the diode voltage keeps increasing by a tiny bit after that point.
Which shows that the diode has some internal resistance too resulting in some minor voltage
drop. Our diode started conducting earlier than the predicted 0.7V cut in voltage for silicon,
which suggests there might be some impurity in the diode. And the diode parameter n was 1.73
where it should be 2 for a pure silicon. We should be able to get a more accurate result if we use
a better diode and take the reading more sincerely.
10

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Department of CSE

Post Lab Report

Experiment Name : I-V Characteristics and Modeling of Forward Conduction of a Diode.

Course Code : CSE 251

Course Title : Electronic Circuits

Nishat Sultana Supty

Saifur Rahman

Submitted To : M Saddam Hossain Khan (SHK)

Figure: Experimental Circuit

Answer to the post lab question 1

Answer to the post lab question 2

Identified points in the graph:

Answer to the post lab question 3

Here the line crosses the VD axis at 0.62.

Answer to the post lab question 4

Here, at ID1 = 2.02 mA, VD1 = 0.62 V

The diode’s internal resistance is 25 ohm.

The PSpice simulation of the circuit:

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